The Building

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Scripture


So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,
(Ephesians 2:19 NASB)
having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,
(Ephesians 2:20 NASB)
in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord,
(Ephesians 2:21 NASB)
in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
(Ephesians 2:22 NASB)

 

Observation


The new temple was being built in a revolutionary way with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone. The apostles and prophets provided the first layer -- the very foundation of the new temple, and now we are invited to join in and become a part of the whole structure so that all of us together become the place in which the Holy Spirit dwells.

 

Application


This new living temple was something completely different. The structures were now different and with Jesus as the cornerstone, the focal point was always and forever to be him! The apostles and prophets also marked a new phase in understanding the temple. This foundation was made up of men and women who had gone before and helped to lay this first layer. This grouping of individuals was a physical representation of what Paul would say to the Galatians, that there is now no longer "Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female." Jesus had leveled everything out and as long as he remained the cornerstone, he could then build upon the men and women who had been called out to become living stones within the new temple.

So often we think of the new temple in a very individualistic way -- that the Holy Spirit dwells within me personally. While that is true, there is also something about the corporate nature and manner in which God works and moves. Over and over again we are reminded that as followers of Jesus Christ we are part of something much bigger than ourselves. We are a brick or stone in this new building. As such, we are not to go about this Christian walk on our own, but as part of a much larger community of faith. It is in our unity that we are able to be the living and breathing new temple that Paul had so beautifully envisioned. Each one of us is called to play his/her part in this new temple, a place where heaven meets earth; where the Holy Spirit dwells in and among the very people of God.

 

Prayer


Lord, may I serve you as a brick within the walls of your new temple here on earth. Amen.

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